Skip to main content
Sister Publication Links
  • Sustainable Plastics
  • Rubber News
Subscribe
  • Sign Up Free
  • Login
  • Subscribe
  • News
    • Processor News
    • Suppliers
    • More News
    • Digital Edition
    • End Markets
    • Special Reports
    • Newsletters
    • Resin pricing news
    • Videos
    • Injection Molding
    • Blow Molding
    • Film & Sheet
    • Pipe/Profile/Tubing
    • Rotomolding
    • Thermoforming
    • Recycling
    • Machinery
    • Materials
    • Molds/Tooling
    • Product news
    • Design
    • K Show
    • Mergers & Acquisitions
    • Sustainability
    • Public Policy
    • Material Insights Videos
    • Numbers that Matter
    • Automotive
    • Packaging
    • Medical
    • Consumer Products
    • Construction
    • Processor of the Year
    • Best Places to Work
    • Women Breaking the Mold
    • Rising Stars
    • Diversity
    • Most Interesting Social Media Accounts in Plastics
  • Opinion
    • The Plastics Blog
    • Kickstart
    • One Good Resin
    • Pellets and Politics
    • All Things Data
    • Viewpoint
    • From Pillar to Post
    • Perspective
    • Mailbag
    • Fake Plastic Trees
  • Shop Floor
    • Blending
    • Compounding
    • Drying
    • Injection Molding
    • Purging
    • Robotics
    • Size Reduction
    • Structural Foam
    • Tooling
    • Training
  • Events
    • K Show Livestream
    • Plastics News Events
    • Industry Events
    • Injection Molding & Design Expo
    • Livestreams/Webinars
    • Editorial Livestreams
    • Ask the Expert
    • Plastics News Events Library
    • Processor of the Year submissions
    • Plastics News Executive Forum
    • Injection Molding & Design Expo
    • Plastics News Caps & Closures
    • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum
    • Plastics in Automotive
    • PN Live: Mergers and Acquisitions
    • Polymer Points Live
    • Numbers that Matter Live
    • Plastics in Politics Live
    • Sustainable Plastics Live
    • Plastics Caps & Closures Library
    • Plastics in Healthcare Library
    • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum Library
  • Rankings & Data
    • Injection Molders
    • Blow Molders
    • Film Sheet
    • Thermoformers
    • Pipe Profile Tubing
    • Rotomolders
    • Mold/Toolmakers
    • LSR Processors
    • Recyclers
    • Compounders - List
    • Association - List
    • Plastic Lumber - List
    • All
  • Directory
  • Resin Prices
    • Commodity TPs
    • High Temp TPs
    • ETPs
    • Thermosets
    • Recycled Plastics
    • Historic Commodity Thermoplastics
    • Historic High Temp Thermoplastics
    • Historic Engineering Thermoplastics
    • Historic Thermosets
    • Historic Recycled Plastics
  • Custom
    • Sponsored Content
    • LS Mtron Sponsored Content
    • Conair Sponsored Content
    • KraussMaffei Sponsored Content
    • ENGEL Sponsored Content
    • White Papers
    • Classifieds
    • Place an Ad
    • Sign up for Early Classified
MENU
Breadcrumb
  1. Home
  2. News
February 23, 2023 07:47 AM

Study: Recycled PET flake demand to exceed supply by end of decade

Jim Johnson
Staff Writer
Plastics News Staff
  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Share
  • Email
  • More
    Reprints Print
    MatthewSeidnerMcKinsey_i.jpg

    Fernandina Beach, Fla. — Demand for PET flake is going to skyrocket during the latter half of this decade, far outstripping forecasted supply, according to consulting firm McKinsey & Co.

    This year, 2023, is a tipping point when it comes to recycled PET supply and demand, according to Matthew Seidner, a partner in the firm's Chicago office who spends his days as a leader in the firm's packaging practice.

    "Starting with the end of this year and into next year, there will be more demand than there is supply of rPET," Seidner said.

    And McKinsey's projection is basing the numbers on 50 percent of the commitments that are out there. If the full 100 percent of commitments are considered, the market is already out of balance.

    The consensus among PET recyclers is that demand will outstrip supply because of the sustainability goals that companies have set for 2025 and 2030.

    "We need to figure out that supply question," Seidner said at the recent Packaging Conference in Fernandina Beach near Jacksonville organized by polyester industry consultancy SBAcci Inc. "How do we do this in an economical way and make sure that the supply is there? That's a problem we have to figure out from curbside collection to more outside-of-the-deposit-scheme states to having the infrastructure to be able to process."

    "Demand for rPET flake will likely remain greater than domestic supply, continuing trends of increased pricing and volatility," Seidner's presentation said.

    "Beyond 2023, there will not be sufficient U.S. rPET supply to support both food and beverage fiber demand," the presentation continues. "If current trends continue, rPET flake end-use will shift heavily toward bottle-to-bottle applications."

    Statistics presented by McKinsey indicate an estimated demand of 2.02 billion pounds this year, including 48 percent of the total for food and beverage, 44 percent for fiber and 8 percent for other applications. The McKinsey numbers take into account both domestic and imported recycled PET.

    By 2030, the McKinsey numbers — which will be in an upcoming study released by the firm — show 70 percent of the projected 4.15 billion pounds of recycled PET flake demand will come from food and beverage, 24 percent from fiber and 5 percent from other categories.

    The projections show demand from the fiber industry will hold relatively stable and increase slightly over time. But demand from the food and beverage sector will see dramatic increases for the rest of the decade.

    Seidner also shared what he believes are five megatrends that are emerging in packaging.

    Sustainability trends, he said, are increasing at every step of the value chain as consumers, brands and governments are all pushing for packaging that addresses areas including recyclability and circularity, post-consumer content and greenhouse gas emissions.

    Other packaging trends include electronic commerce, changing consumer preferences, potential economic trouble and labor challenges, and digitalization, Seidner said.

    "Sustainability is clearly on everyone's mind. This is from consumers to CPGs to regulators as we've seen. We've been talking about sustainability for a very long time. At least my full 15 years in packaging," he said.

    "This time, the arguments around sustainability we are having, to me they feel different," he said. "I think it's different because it's being led by consumers. It's not a cost-savings initiative."

    There once was a time in the sustainability discussion that companies thought they could save money by adopting greener practices, but the narrative is being driven by consumer demand these days, the partner said.

    Some 90 percent of people surveyed by McKinsey indicate they are willing to spend more for products using sustainable packaging. And 4 -7 percent of the respondents, depending on purchase category, said they are willing to spend 10 percent or more on a product that uses sustainable packaging.

    Only 5-9 percent of the respondents, again depending on what they are buying, indicated they are not willing to spend more on an overall purchase just because of sustainable packaging.

    RECOMMENDED FOR YOU
    TI Fluid Systems building Michigan innovation center for e-mobility
    Letter
    to the
    Editor

    Do you have an opinion about this story? Do you have some thoughts you'd like to share with our readers? Plastics News would love to hear from you. Email your letter to Editor at [email protected]

    Most Popular
    1
    Redline buys Georgia-based Quality Holdings
    2
    Mattress maker Purple continues fight against takeover
    3
    Ineos workers in Ohio on strike
    4
    Redline's ‘outrageous cultural behaviors' retain top employees
    5
    Material Insights: Polypropylene production — both virgin and recycled — in the spotlight
    SIGN UP FOR OUR FREE NEWSLETTERS
    EMAIL ADDRESS

    Please enter a valid email address.

    Please enter your email address.

    Please verify captcha.

    Please select at least one newsletter to subscribe.

    Get our newsletters

    Staying current is easy with Plastics News delivered straight to your inbox, free of charge.

    Subscribe today

    Subscribe to Plastics News

    Subscribe now
    Connect with Us
    • LinkedIn
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Instagram

    Plastics News covers the business of the global plastics industry. We report news, gather data and deliver timely information that provides our readers with a competitive advantage.

    Contact Us

    1155 Gratiot Avenue
    Detroit MI 48207-2997

    Customer Service:
    877-320-1723

    Resources
    • About
    • Staff
    • Editorial Calendar
    • Media Kit
    • Data Store
    • Digital Edition
    • Custom Content
    • People
    • Contact
    • Careers
    • Sitemap
    Related Crain Publications
    • Sustainable Plastics
    • Rubber News
    • Tire Business
    • Urethanes Technology
    Legal
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Policy
    • Privacy Request
    Copyright © 1996-2023. Crain Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
    • News
      • Processor News
        • Injection Molding
        • Blow Molding
        • Film & Sheet
        • Pipe/Profile/Tubing
        • Rotomolding
        • Thermoforming
        • Recycling
      • Suppliers
        • Machinery
        • Materials
        • Molds/Tooling
        • Product news
        • Design
      • More News
        • K Show
        • Mergers & Acquisitions
        • Sustainability
        • Public Policy
        • Material Insights Videos
        • Numbers that Matter
      • Digital Edition
      • End Markets
        • Automotive
        • Packaging
        • Medical
        • Consumer Products
        • Construction
      • Special Reports
        • Processor of the Year
        • Best Places to Work
        • Women Breaking the Mold
        • Rising Stars
        • Diversity
        • Most Interesting Social Media Accounts in Plastics
      • Newsletters
      • Resin pricing news
      • Videos
    • Opinion
      • The Plastics Blog
      • Kickstart
      • One Good Resin
      • Pellets and Politics
      • All Things Data
      • Viewpoint
      • From Pillar to Post
      • Perspective
      • Mailbag
      • Fake Plastic Trees
    • Shop Floor
      • Blending
      • Compounding
      • Drying
      • Injection Molding
      • Purging
      • Robotics
      • Size Reduction
      • Structural Foam
      • Tooling
      • Training
    • Events
      • K Show Livestream
      • Plastics News Events
        • Plastics News Executive Forum
        • Injection Molding & Design Expo
        • Plastics News Caps & Closures
        • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum
        • Plastics in Automotive
      • Industry Events
      • Injection Molding & Design Expo
      • Livestreams/Webinars
        • PN Live: Mergers and Acquisitions
      • Editorial Livestreams
        • Polymer Points Live
        • Numbers that Matter Live
        • Plastics in Politics Live
        • Sustainable Plastics Live
      • Ask the Expert
      • Plastics News Events Library
        • Plastics Caps & Closures Library
        • Plastics in Healthcare Library
        • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum Library
      • Processor of the Year submissions
    • Rankings & Data
      • Injection Molders
      • Blow Molders
      • Film Sheet
      • Thermoformers
      • Pipe Profile Tubing
      • Rotomolders
      • Mold/Toolmakers
      • LSR Processors
      • Recyclers
      • Compounders - List
      • Association - List
      • Plastic Lumber - List
      • All
    • Directory
    • Resin Prices
      • Commodity TPs
        • Historic Commodity Thermoplastics
      • High Temp TPs
        • Historic High Temp Thermoplastics
      • ETPs
        • Historic Engineering Thermoplastics
      • Thermosets
        • Historic Thermosets
      • Recycled Plastics
        • Historic Recycled Plastics
    • Custom
      • Sponsored Content
      • LS Mtron Sponsored Content
      • Conair Sponsored Content
      • KraussMaffei Sponsored Content
      • ENGEL Sponsored Content
      • White Papers
      • Classifieds
        • Place an Ad
        • Sign up for Early Classified